Kennedy Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 38.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,231 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,062 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Post were worth $6,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of POST. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Post by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Post by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Post by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Post by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the fourth quarter worth about $1,259,000. 94.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on POST. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.67.

Post Stock Performance

POST stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.46. The company had a trading volume of 29,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,711. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.60. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.85 and a fifty-two week high of $110.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.64.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.22. Post had a return on equity of 10.93% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Post’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other Post news, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total value of $1,761,650.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $460,152. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 4,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.06, for a total transaction of $424,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,246,456.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total value of $1,761,650.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,152. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,345 shares of company stock worth $2,344,320 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.70% of the company’s stock.

Post Company Profile

Post Holdings, Inc operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names.